The Royal Family of Arendelle
by WizMonCruWil
Summary: How about that teaser for Frozen II, huh? I was inspired to write this after reading the wonderful epic, Your Aunt Elsa. I thought the romantic plot was going to go a certain way, and when it didn't, I thought I would write this. Please, enjoy!
1. Chapter 1: Lost in Your Arms

**Chapter 1: Lost In Your Arms**

When those two fateful words passed from her baby sister's lips, Queen Elsa sat a little straighter in her throne. Even as, simultaneously, the resting regal facade she maintained dipped just a bit in surprise. When her sister, Princess Anna, and brother-in-law, Sir Kristoff, had requested an audience with her, she had been more than a little shocked. Specific requests for an audience with the Queen, from her subjects anyway, was a rarity, especially when Elsa maintained an open door policy to receive her people in the palace once a week. For her family to ask for it... Elsa felt they didn't need to - they had earned the right, through blood and marriage, to address her as a sister, and not as their ruler. Anna took more liberties with this; though he had married into the royal family several years before, Kristoff still took a more cautious approach, out of deference. Getting him to simply call her Elsa had been a small victory. And he did that now more often than not. Except when the royal family was in this room - the throne room - together.

But Elsa was letting her mind swirl faster than snow flurries. It was all she could do from fainting dead away off her throne. "You're pregnant?" Her baby sister, about to become a mommy... it was too abstract to process. Her eyes flitting to Kristoff, Elsa decided to focus on the more concrete ideas surrounding this new development and work her way up from there. She knew her sister was no longer innocent in the ways of the world - a wife could not afford to be. Married people did... what married people did. But all the same, she felt the need to ask, with more than a little warning in her voice, "Were you good to her, reindeer man?"

Kristoff's face went to war with itself, flipping and flopping from an amused smile to a wince. Normally, "reindeer man" was an affectionate nickname from his sister-in-law. Neither of them could remember exactly when the practice started, and unfortunately for Kristoff, the moniker stuck. He put up with it largely because it made Anna laugh; Sven, even more so. He certainly much rather preferred Olaf's calling him "Sven," which the magical snowman still sometimes did, out of habit. But in this case... he couldn't remember the last time Elsa had called him reindeer man in anything less than a loving manner. There was that time when Anna had toddled off on that ill-advised trip to Mist Haven, but that was before they were married. And back when Elsa was not nearly as affectionate as she was now - certainly not with him, anyway. Kristoff gulped. "I was a gentleman with her... Your Majesty."

Elsa sat back, silently acknowledging Kristoff's formalities, even within the informal context of this family summit. It was a wise move on his part, and though she didn't feel it was entirely necessary, she accepted it for what it was. She turned her neck. "Anna?"

Anna took Kristoff's hand. "He was really kind and gentle..." she began. She blushed furiously. "Of course, he always is, even when we're not..." Her voice trailed off and she too winced.

Elsa looked between the couple. It had not been hard to give them her blessing for their marriage - Kristoff had ingratiated himself far too much for any of them to turn back at that point. But this... this was (or would be) a new member of the family. A _human_ member of the family. Having three adults, a talking snowman, and a reindeer who thought he could talk in the royal family Christmas cards was fun for a while - for the sheer absurdity of it alone. But after some time, the subjects would find it boring, and clamor for proof of a little prince or princess.

Elsa's breath caught, and tiny little snowflakes suddenly floated gently down around her head, like a halo. If Anna was going to be a mommy, and Kristoff a daddy, then that meant...

"I'm going to be an _aunt_! Ohhhhhh..." she wept. Her tears quickly froze on her face, which only made her cry harder. She flew from the throne and into their arms, hugging each of them in turn.

Kristoff rumblingly chuckled, "Oh, don't cry now, you'll freeze so dreadfully!"

"I'm... s-sorry!" Elsa hiccuped. "I can't help it!"

"You cry your eyes out," Anna encouraged, staring over the top of her sister's head to look at her husband. The silent message was clear:_ No conflicting messages. Let me handle it. I know you're trying to be a dear and help, but let me handle it._ To his credit, Kristoff acquiesced. He still had trouble responding to Elsa's see-sawing emotions. He never avoided them, and for someone who had always strived to make the best peace, soothing encouragement/defusion was more his forte. But Anna would always know Elsa better than anyone, so sometimes it was best to just let her take the reins, so to speak.

Elsa was still sobbing, but growing calmer. "Thank you," she trembled, taking hands and anything else in reach and holding it close. "_Thank you_. I always _dreamed_ of this..."

Kristoff and Anna shared another look over her head, the former smiling encouragingly. It was always nice to hear Elsa reveal more and more about herself to them. The fact that to have a niece or nephew was one of her dearest wishes left the heirs to the Arendelle throne happier than they could possibly say.

* * *

It had been hours upon hours of Elsa pacing back and forth outside the princess's private residence. She wasn't allowed in yet, and the only thing that had restrained her from knocking Kristoff to the ground with a well-placed icicle and charging in herself was that Anna did not wish her sister to see her in such a state. Around her, the walls were coating with a thin layer of frost, some slushy snow ruining the carpet, even as Elsa tried to keep this physical manifestation of her worry at bay.

"Get it together... control it... conceal, don't feel, conceal, don't feel... Anna is alive... the baby will be healthy... Kristoff will take care of them... conceal, don't feel, conceal, don't feel..."

It was advice she turned to less and less since the Great Thaw. But for every dark mantra, there is always a silver lining, when it is applied in the right way and context. In this case, reciting conceal, don't feel was all that was battling Elsa's worry for her family. Even if it brought up some painful memories along the way.

The flashbacks caught her unawares:

_Conceal it, don't feel it_, in her father's voice. _Don't let it show._

_Just take care of my sister..._

_I'm such a fool, I can't be free... Goodbye Anna..._

_ANNA!_

_ELSA! ELSA! ELSAAAAA!_

"Elsa... Elsa..." a distinctly masculine voice cut through the white noise... and white landscape. "Elsa!"

Elsa came back to Earth to see that she was no longer alone in the hallway. Kristoff was by her side, taking off his cap, and she was still focusing in on him and asking, "What?" -

When a bundle was thrust into her arms.

Elsa froze as she seemed to by instinct cradle whatever Kristoff had given her. A memory long suppressed rose to the surface, from decades before, when she had held...

Her baby sister...

Elsa nearly dropped the bundle in terror. The little thing was probably stiff from cold already! Touching people without fear was still new to her.

But then, Elsa glanced down wide-eyed at the little bundle. Ice blue eyes met shimmering green ones...

And the world faded away.

For it was her niece - healthy and whole and distinctly warm and unfrozen - who sent something resembling a smile in her direction. A noise followed - a murmur that sounded like the coo of a dove.

And then the most amazing thing happened. The baby actually turned itself into Elsa, little fingers grasping for her icy dress, her face nuzzling inherently towards her breast... even if Elsa could give nothing of herself, no sustenance, to it. Nursing was to be Anna's job.

"This is your niece. Her name is Elsabeth."

Kristoff's voice nearly made Elsa drop the baby this time. Tears pricked her eyes. "Elsa...beth?"

Kristoff chuckled. "We bantered about Elsabelle, but it didn't roll off the tongue quite right..."

"Kristoff... no..." Elsa pleaded, though touched, but her brother-in-law could only smile.

"There was no arguing with her. She wanted to name a child of hers after you. Needless to say, I agreed - with no fuss, I might add." He craned his eyes up to see over the little mass of swaddling clothes. "Well, call me a troll - you put her to sleep! She likes you."

Elsabeth oofed in response and burrowed herself deeper into her aunt. Her namesake almost staggered into a plush bench and began to rock the baby gently. Not once did the Queen look up, for many, many minutes. She was in a trance, clutching the baby covetously. Anyone else might have minded, but not Kristoff. It had been agreed upon, between himself and Anna, that Elsa would be involved in the child rearing to a certain extent. Quite a bit, actually.

But once Elsa had sat there, unmoving, for a solid ten minutes, Kristoff finally needed to smirk, "We'll need her back, you know."

Elsa shook her head of her reverie, and passed her niece back to Kristoff. Then, she did something she had never done before, and kissed the mountain man on the cheek. "Thanks, Kristoff."

Her brother-in-law's smile and voice was as warm as honey. "You're welcome."

"Can I see Anna?"

"She's asleep. Quite tired," Kristoff reported. "I'll let you in, but she might not wake up for the rest of the day, the doctors said. Maybe not even tomorrow. The birth was... difficult." He held up his hands in a sign of peace. "Anna and I apologize in advance for keeping you out here. I know we don't do shut-outs anymore in this family. But if what I saw out here fifteen minutes ago was any indication, you were worried enough as it was."

Elsa looked around, and gaped to find that any sign of winter or her powers was gone. Love really did thaw.

Just then, the door at the end of the hall banged open and in came Olaf and Sven. Olaf's almost shrieky gasp signaled he had seen the new arrival.

"It's her! It's her, Sven!" And they soon resorted to pushing each other out of the way to get a better look. "What is it?"

Elsa chuckled, taking Elsabeth again from Kristoff and holding her out to the snowman. "It's a baby," she crooned. Olaf touched one of his stick fingers to the baby's face... but promptly drew it back when she began to stir and whimper from its prickliness.

"Ohhhhh..." Elsa moaned with love, and she bounced the infant until she fell back to sleep. Olaf turned to Kristoff. "Can we see Anna?"

Kristoff thought for a moment before giving a jerk of his head. "Go on, you numbnuts, get in there. But tread lightly - she's asleep." Olaf and Sven tiptoed inside. Kristoff made to follow, then turned back. "Coming, Elsa?"

Though she was tempted, Elsa shook her head. "I trust you. To keep her safe." She started to hand the baby back, blushing, but Kristoff stepped back.

"You never want to mess up a good thing. Besides, I held her quite a bit before even coming to get you. I think my daughter will be fine in the arms of a Queen." And he left Elsa with her niece.

* * *

It was deep night the next evening when Elsa was in her study by the fireplace, in an old rocking chair of her mother's, cuddling the baby close. She still had the same adoring grin on her face that she had had when Kristoff had first handed her over yesterday.

Elsa felt delirious, dizzy and sick with love. She thought there was no one else who could compare with the love she felt for Anna. But... _her_... Her niece had trusted and loved her from first moment on like no one else had. The feeling nearly crippled the Queen.

_"I don't know just how it happened. I wish I knew. I can't believe that it happened, but still it's true... I got lost in your arms, and I had to stay... It was light in your arms, and I lost my way... And I heard a voice, and it seemed to say, There you go... There you go... How I felt when I fell, I just can't recall, but your arms held me fast and it broke the fall, and I said to my heart, as it foolishly kept jumping all around... I got lost... but look what I found..."_

As Elsa sang the lullaby, she began to waltz gently around the study with the baby in her arms. She hummed to herself, until she was snapped out of her reverie by catching sight of Kristoff, leaning against the wall with a knowing smile.

"How long have you been standing there?" Elsa flushed.

"Long enough. You love her like you're practically her mother. You sure you didn't give birth to her?"

Elsa laughed. "I think my body would know if I had. What news?"

"Anna's woken up, if you want to see her."

Elsa didn't need to be told twice. She rushed after Kristoff to Anna's bedroom, where her sister was sitting up in bed, weary but happy.

Finally, Elsa got to watch Anna hold her child, and then Kristoff. The sight was adorable for about twenty minutes before she got jittery for another hit. Beaming, she clasped her hands together and approached her brother-in-law. "My turn."

Kristoff passed Elsabeth back to Elsa, who rocked her like a natural.

"Where does she sleep?" Anna nearly moaned the question, overcome by the touching sight.

"In my arms," Elsa sighed. "Or Kristoff's or Gerda's." Gliding regally over to a royal crib in the corner of the room, Elsa gingerly placed Elsabeth into it.

"Good night, Elphaba!" Olaf whispered, waving.

"Elsabeth," Kristoff corrected him.

"Elsabeth!"

Elsa kissed her niece's forehead. "Sweet dreams, my darling. You're absolutely _perfect_."


	2. Chapter 2: The Power of Love

**Chapter 2: The Power of Love**

Anna and Kristoff dragged themselves into their bedroom following a long afternoon meeting with trade negotiators from the neighboring kingdom of Parkgard. They had been asked to sit in for the first half of the meeting, and then close out deliberations at the end on Queen Elsa's behalf, after she departed. The whole thing was really to let the Princess and her husband learn the ropes of royal dealings.

Now in their bedroom, the couple found servants attending to cleaning the sheets and curtains. Kai, Elsa's Chief of Staff, straightened upon seeing them. "Your Highnesses. I trust the meeting went well?"

Anna nodded, glancing to the bassinet at the foot of her and Kristoff's bed. It was empty. "Where's Elsabeth?"

Kai glanced out the window. "Her Majesty stole her," he joked. Through the panes, the group could look down into the gardens in the shadow of the palace. Underneath a tree, Elsa was holding up a year old Elsabeth, pure happiness radiating off her face. The Queen appeared to be making silly faces at her niece, punctuated by a phrase that while not heard, could be decoded to only be "I love you."

Kai shook his head. "She has been around her almost as much as Your Highnesses have. And you're her parents."

Kristoff observed the scene curiously. "Yes... she has," he agreed.

Kai noticed the contemplative tone in Sir Kristoff's voice. "Does that bother His Highness?"

Kristoff flinched at the royal title; he still wasn't used to it yet, even after several years. Beside him, he could feel Anna's eyes on him; unsure whether either potential answer to Kai's question was the right one, he opted to say nothing. He felt Kai's hand on his shoulder.

"Your Highness... I know what the Queen means to you and the Princess, and the baby. But do not let the child became a crutch for Her Majesty. After all, you are the parents."

And he left a tormented Anna and Kristoff to ponder over what he said.

* * *

It was late afternoon when Elsa came flitting in to Anna and Kristoff's chambers with Elsabeth. She was trilling out a laugh as her niece reached for her pearl necklace and tried to stick the beads into her mouth. Slowly, Elsa lowered Elsabeth into the bassinet. "_There_ we go, precious..."

"Have a fun day?"

Elsa jumped at her sister's voice, to find Anna and Kristoff standing in the doorway to the bathroom. "Absolutely!" she beamed. "Elsabeth cheered me right up after that meeting."

Anna nodded, silently filing away that comment for later. "Well, see you at dinner."

Elsa blinked at the dismissal. "Can I get a goodnight kiss in first?" And her plea was so sweet, that Anna could not find it within herself to refuse. As Elsa bent over the crib and pressed a kiss to her niece's crown, Kristoff cleared his throat.

"Elsa..." he began delicately. "We wanted to ask you something."

"Ask away," Elsa said happily.

"How many times a day do you see Elsabeth?"

Elsa frowned, thrown by the question. "Four...? Four or five, easily."

Kristoff nodded. "Do you think that's a little... excessive? Especially with your duties as Queen?"

"Kristoff!" Anna hissed admonishingly.

Elsa's eyes went wide; she looked almost mortified. "Oh, I'm sorry! I did not mean to overstep my boundaries. It's just that..."

"Elsa, please just calm down," Anna soothed, shooting a glare at her husband over her shoulder.

"Please don't shut me out again!" Elsa begged, sounding close to tears now. "I never meant to usurp your roles! It's just that I _need_ her!"

That made both Anna and Kristoff take pause; the latter looked sufficiently sheepish over his poor turn of phrasing earlier. Anna latched onto Elsa's strongest statement and attempted to steer the conversation in a more rational direction. "Why do you feel you need Elsabeth?"

"Because... she's the only person who has never been afraid of me, all the way through." And Elsa could not resist a peek back at the crib, with a love in her eyes that rocked Anna to her core. She didn't know of many aunts who would look at their sibling's child that way. "When I'm with _her_, I'm not the Queen of Arendelle. I'm not the Snow Queen. I'm just... _me_. With _her_, I can just... _be_. You don't know how much I need that, with everything I have going on." Elsa turned back to her family and straightened. "That being said, I would never attempt to interfere with you or Kristoff. You're her parents, not me. So, if you want to set up a system, or ground rules, I understand."

Anna and Kristoff glanced at each other, suddenly feeling ashamed at having ever brought up this conversation. They also realized it was downright hypocritical of them, their behavior, especially considering that they had agreed upon Elsa having an influence on the child rearing when Elsabeth was born.

Anna smiled. "Elsa... we would never shut you out of Elsabeth's life. You may see her as often as you wish. I only ask that you check with us first." Kristoff nodded, latching onto that. It seemed as fine a compromise as any. "Deal?"

Beaming, Elsa hugged them both. "Deal!" Then she ran from the room, only pausing at the door to blow one last kiss to the sleeping infant.


	3. Chapter 3: And Here Come Some More

**Chapter 3: And Here Come Some More**

The second time around is always easier, people say. Especially when it comes to childbirth. For Queen Elsa, however, she didn't think she would never be on edge while waiting outside a door, on the other side of which her little sister was giving birth. She had heard what sounded like a rather unflattering word just a bit ago, but thankfully, the three-year-old nestled in her arms, a thumb in her mouth, didn't seem to notice.

Elsa had readily volunteered to stay outside this time - someone needed to watch Elsabeth until the worst was over, and it was an arrangement that her parents seemed grateful for. Nevertheless, Kristoff was more conscientious this time around, occasionally sticking his mop of blonde hair out the door to quietly whisper to his sister-in-law regarding Anna's progress. Elsa took each status update quietly and thankfully; in all the years she had known him, she and Kristoff had built up a great rapport, blossoming on true sibling-like affection.

"Auntie?"

"Yes, little one?"

"When is my brudder gonna get here?"

Elsa laughed. "_Brother_, precious," she corrected the pronunciation, though it was half-hearted. Elsabeth hadn't been talking for very long - only a year, really - so the slip was forgivable.

The door opened at that moment to reveal a drained Kristoff, though the smile on his face was encouraging. Elsabeth squirmed in her aunt's arms, reaching. "Daddy!"

Elsa passed Elsabeth to Kristoff effortlessly, and the mountain man spun his little girl around on his hands, like she was some kind of giggling, shrieking pizza pie. Kristoff had always had large hands, Elsa noted. Calloused, meaty and strong from years of ice harvesting. Though when Anna once tried to gossip with her sister about what he could _do_ to her with those hands... well, Elsa was appropriately grossed out. Since the Great Thaw, she and her sister had gotten to the point where they could talk about most anything, but sex wasn't one of them. The muzzle of taboo was made all the easier in that Elsa had no sexual experience or comparative lover so she and Anna could exchange notes. And even if there _was_ a romantic partner in her life, the similarities would end quite soon, Elsa felt.

"Would you like to meet your little brother?" Kristoff murmured, with a gentleness so moving that Elsa teared up. Elsabeth bobbed her head eagerly, and the pair strode for the door. Elsa hung back; she always made a concerted effort now to defer to Kristoff's judgement, and let Elsabeth have quality time with her parents. So she was surprised when Kristoff called over his shoulder jovially, "Keep up, sister! You've waited long enough too!"

Grinning, Elsa followed her family into the Princess and Prince Consort's private residence. Anna was propped up by pillows, the smile on her face weary as she nursed her new-born son.

"Vladimir," Anna announced the name softly. Elsa beamed. Vladimir had been her and Anna's grandfather's name, though it would probably be shortened to Vlad in due order. Grinning, Anna passed the infant to Elsa, so the Queen could hold her nephew. He was every bit as beautiful as Elsabeth, though traces of his father were more pronounced.

"So handsome... like his Daddy," Elsa winked at her brother-in-law. Kristoff blinked at the observation; even now, compliments from Elsa were rarely given. He figured he had better take what he could get. Besides, for his wife's sister to say that, unsolicited... it was quite the feather in his cap.

Kristoff's heart swelled all the more when Anna giggled and gazed at him with adoration. "Yes, he certainly does," she sighed.

* * *

Elsa sat quietly on the plush bench in the hallway, only keeping one ear open as 6-year-old Elsabeth entertained herself by scurrying up and down the hall and around her feet. 3-year-old Vladimir was more quiet, seated beside his aunt and clicking his heels together. Though he never said so, Elsa could feel his impatience and slight dread as they all waited for the new baby to arrive.

Months earlier, Anna had promised Elsa that this child would be the last one. Its conception had apparently been discussed thoroughly before the actual deed was done. For someone as scatter-brained as Anna, she and Kristoff had planned their children well - three years apart for each. The age gaps were not too big and not too small. Plus, it had broken the mold of two siblings in each generation of the Arendelle royal family, going back centuries. Anna and Elsa's father had had an older brother, who abdicated the throne to serve in the priesthood, long before the girls were born, for example.

All the same, for Elsabeth's sake, Elsa hoped that the third child was a girl. So she could have a little sister to play with, like Elsa did in Anna. And when Kristoff stumbled out of his and Anna's chambers hours later, grinning like an idiot, Elsa got her wish.

"It's another girl!"

Elsabeth and Vladimir shrieked and ran for the door, the boy ducking in between his father's legs even as Elsa hopelessly tried to corral them. Kristoff stood aside to let his sister-in-law through, but Elsa paused to warmly peck his cheek.

"Congratulations, Kristoff."

Kristoff smirked. "Next time our family does this, it better be you who's the new mother," he teased.

Elsa laughed and shook her head, even as she felt a pang of sadness and longing jolt through her. The whispers amidst the staff and people had started when Vladimir was born, and with the announcement of this new little one, those rumors would surely crescendo to a dull roar. Though no confrontations on the question had been made yet, Elsa knew... it was only a matter of time.

She just hoped she would have an answer.

Vladimir belly-flopped onto his parents' bed, narrowly missing his mother's legs as his father warned him to be careful. Elsabeth was more introspective, approaching the bed quietly and not even asking for her dad to lift her up for a better view; Kristoff did it himself.

"This is Christina," Anna held the bundle out to her children. Elsa silently took in her youngest niece's name with intrigue - intrigue cleared up when Anna craned her neck up to kiss her husband. "Now, I have a baby named after my sister... and a baby named after my husband."

Kristoff huffed out what sounded like a chuckle - or was it a sob? (Elsa couldn't tell) - as he said, "It's perfect, honey."

Yes, the family certainly was that. Perfect.

So why did Elsa still feel that tight clench in her stomach?


	4. Chapter 4: The Lady Ilya

**Chapter 4: The Lady Ilya**

The question that Elsa feared more than any other came within a year of Christina's birth.

The birth of each of the Princess's children had been cause for great celebration in the Kingdom of Arendelle. Elsa had personally decreed that their birth dates serve as a national holiday for the people - a gesture that Anna and Kristoff were overwhelmed by, but accepted at Elsa's insistence. There was no one who didn't love Anna or Kristoff; a tiny minority had expressed misgivings at the Princess wedding a commoner, but Kristoff's duties as the Arendelle Ice Master and Deliverer had conferred upon him an importance that let him rise above his station, even more than his marriage did. And besides... his marriage did make him Prince Consort. He was royalty by marriage; his children royal by blood.

But that didn't erase the fact that none of Princess Anna's children would rule. They were second, third and fourth in line for the throne behind their mother. Only in the worst-case scenario would any of them take the scepter and golden ball seen at coronations.

Besides, there was a far more solid channel through which to produce an heir. The yet-to-exist child of Queen Elsa.

Never mind that Elsa was only 34 years old, and was assured a reign for decades to come. A clear heir had to be present and accounted for as the Queen progressed throughout her life; that there was not yet one was increasingly becoming cause for concern amongst Elsa's advisers. Elsa might have decades left on the throne, but she surely did not have decades to give birth to a child. Many Arendellian women lost the ability to have children in their mid-50s; that gave Elsa twenty years at best to find a husband and produce an heir. When one considered that sixteen years had already gone by without Elsa being seen with any man, the urgency was noticeably heightened.

This concern came to a head one day in Elsa's Cabinet meeting, which Kristoff accidentally interrupted by coming in with a fussy Christina. "She's been crying all day. Maybe she wants you?" he guessed, as he passed his youngest to her aunt. His hunch was correct; the baby calmed almost immediately after being placed in Elsa's arms. All eyes of the Cabinet were on Elsa and how naturally she took to rocking an infant. Kristoff didn't notice as he bade goodbye to her. "Gotta go take Sven out for ice gathering. Bye, sis!"

The door closed on a palpable silence. It took another full minute of fawning over Christina for Elsa to even remember that her Cabinet was still there. "Is there something you want to express, gentlemen?" The looks in their eyes seemed to convey an eagerness to speak.

"Your Majesty..." The Secretary of the Treasury cleared his throat. "You have always been a doting aunt to the Princess's children."

Elsa felt herself stiffen. "They are the product of my Anna. Why would I not dote on them?"

"It just... raises the question..." The Secretary of State danced around delicately. "Of when you will have your own baby?" The encouraging nod of his colleagues spurred him on to say, more strongly. "Arendelle must have an heir to the throne. Perhaps it would be in Your Majesty's best interest to court a suitor?"

Elsa sighed. There was nowhere to run or hide now. "It would be, that I grant you," she conceded. "But the right person must come along. When I do marry... I want it to be for love." When Elsa had considered the question for herself, at this one point had she arrived clearly: Anna and Kristoff's love had inspired her to want the same for her own relationship.

From the way her Cabinet shifted in their seats, it was clear that they didn't like this answer, to say nothing of the fact that Elsa had said _'person'_ \- not _'man'_.

"Not for political advantage?" the Secretary of State voiced. "Your Majesty, we still have valuable allies with eligible suitors -"

"It must be for love," Elsa stated firmly.

"Great," The Secretary of War muttered, thinking no one could hear him. "That just increases our chances of Queen Anna and the monarchy going down the toilet..."

Elsa gaped, drawing Christina a little closer to her breast. "Secretary Mattis, I fear I just hallucinated. What did you just say?"

Mattis didn't have the stones to repeat what he'd uttered, so Elsa did it for him. "You believe my sister is unfit for the throne?"

"Well, with a King Kristoff at her side..." The Secretary of the Treasury blurted out. To his credit, his mortified eyes cursed his unrestrained tongue, but it was too late. The implication hung in the air. A dirty backwoodsman, born a commoner, on the throne of Arendelle?

Elsa's eyes flashed dangerously. "Kristoff has _no_ desire to be King!" Of that much she was certain. Even now, her brother-in-law showed discomfort at royal functions. "In the event Anna succeeds me, she would have supreme command. You all do well to remember that. And don't you _ever_ insult my sister's competence again! Are we clear, gentlemen?" Guilty nods abounded.

"And... the question of Your Majesty courting...?" Secretary Mattis offered up meekly.

"... will be discussed later," Elsa laid down cooly. "Issues concerning my family, and my love life, are my affairs, and mine alone. I will let you know if my thinking regarding the latter changes. Dismissed."

The Cabinet room emptied in record time.

* * *

Elsa hated having to receive dignitaries this early in the morning. And she was sure Anna and Kristoff hated it even less. Whenever a foreign ambassador arrived at the palace, it was a mandatory, _family_ affair. Kristoff and Anna would spend the better part of an hour coaxing their three little ones out of bed, washed and clothed in their best. If Kristoff had his way, he would have been just fine with his children receiving the Ambassador of Enchancia or whoever it was in their pajamas, or even wearing nothing at all. Growing up as he had in the wilderness, Kristoff's modesty was learned, not inherent. The trolls had told Anna enough stories about _that_, apparently.

The Palace Crier banged his staff and announced, "Your Majesty, Your Highnesses: may I present the Lady Ilya, Ambassador of Prydain!"

A svelte, statuesque woman entered the throne room. She locked eyes with Elsa first. And the world promptly spun off its axis.

Elsa had never felt this breathless since she had held her sister's babies in her arms for the first time. Which made her recognize all the more clearly what this was: love. Love at first sight.

Elsa's mind raced: _"Someone just came in the door... like no one I ever saw before. I feel... I feel... I don't know where you came from. I wish I did, I feel so dumb. I feel... your swagger and your bearing and the just right clothes you're wearing... I thought it was supposed to be wrong, but you seem OK with being strong - I want... You're so... It's probably conceited to say, but I think we're alike in a certain way... I know you... I know you..."_

There was no denying it: The Lady Ilya (that was her name, right?) was _gorgeous_. Her chocolate brown hair hung down past her shoulders. Her porcelain face was pristine, unblemished - with a tall forehead, button nose and lips that looked incredibly soft. Her brown eyes were deep pools that Elsa wanted to dive into.

By now, Ilya had arrived just before the throne, and graciously curtsied, her smile warm. "Your Majesty, Your Highnesses... it is an honor." Was Elsa just imagining it, or did Ilya's eyes betray a deeper intrigue and interest than seen on the faces of most guests? One thing was certain: Ilya's gaze had yet to leave Elsa's.

For a moment, Elsa was tongue-tied. But she recovered quickly, and moved to introduce her family. "My sister, Princess Anna, and my brother-in-law, Prince Consort Kristoff. And these are my nieces and nephew: Elsabeth, Christina and Vladimir."

Ilya immediately picked up on the name of the eldest little royal. "I wager that Queen Elsa must be a beloved ruler and aunt, to have a child named for her. They are darling little ones."

Elsa blushed, even as her mouth dropped open at the compliment. Seeming to misconstrue Elsa's reaction, Ilya quickly curtsied again. "If I may be so bold, Your Majesty."

"You may. You may indeed," Elsa allowed. And she found herself beaming. "How long will you be staying with us, Lady Ilya?"

"Our Secretary of Foreign Affairs has allowed a two-month stay. It is our hopes that a treaty might be discussed."

Ah. So that's what she was here for. Elsa's face fell ever so slightly. Political interests would surely be at the forefront, as opposed to... other interests.

"Very well." Elsa clapped her hands. "Kai, please give the Lady Ilya our finest available guest room."

"Yes, my Queen." As Ilya was led away, the lady cast a glance and smile over her shoulder. Elsa held her gaze, with eyes that could have melted all the ice on the North Mountain.

"I look forward to seeing you, Lady Ilya."

Ilya grinned. "And I you, Your Majesty."

As soon as she was gone, Elsa guided her family through a side door, reaching for a fan with which to fan herself. Anna noticed.

"Are you OK?"


	5. Chapter 5: Falling in Love is Wonderful

**Chapter 5: Falling in Love is Wonderful**

Elsa tried to stay focused on the business of the Arendelle-Prydain treaty initially. But her first meeting with Ilya quickly threw that plan out the window.

The two women found they had a lot in common. Ilya had been born into royalty, privilege - she was the daughter of a Duchess, and had risen to an ambassadorship within the palace of King Taran of Prydain. Conversations careened from one topic to the next, from the funny to the serious.

"In the town where I grew up... people thought I was... odd," Ilya admitted. "Liking books and reading. My ambition to work in government."

Elsa stared. "You? Odd?"

Ilya smiled wryly. "Prydain men have very... particular views about a woman's place in the world." She huffed a little at this, clearly tempted to roll her eyes.

Elsa nodded. "I know just what you mean."

Now it was Ilya's turn to stare. "But you're the Queen. You're lucky! No one would _dare_..."

Elsa just shook her head, a wry smile of her own tugging at her lips. "Doesn't mean they don't think it. And being the Snow Queen... plenty still think I'm odd, too. Oh, things have gotten better - I have Anna and Kristoff. The children..."

Ilya's gaze was piercing, and she crossed to Elsa and dared to take her hand. "I don't think you're odd."

Elsa peered at her, her face crumpling in relief. "Thank you."

Electricity crackled between them. Elsa's study seemed to heat by several degrees, and the distinct lack of ice in the room... well, Elsa was sure that even if she could conjure snow, it would all melt under the smoldering gaze Ilya was giving her.

And it definitely would burst into flames upon Ilya standing on her tiptoes and pressing her lips softly against Elsa.

Elsa felt her eyes flutter shut and she swayed into the kiss, relaxing and twitching her lips more firmly into Ilya's. Limbs wound about each other, as the two women deepened the kiss. Their lips were now springing and biting, opening to each other so tongues could squirm and play.

The force of both girls tumbling against the nearby bookcase jolted them out of the kiss enough for Elsa to gasp. "This... this is insane."

Ilya beamed. "Yes, it is." And kissed Elsa again. Elsa surrendered, and the kiss soon became very involved. It took even longer for the Queen to get a hold of herself.

"But it's not wrong."

Ilya's smile was now more wistful. "I used to think so," she admitted. "Prydain would never allow something like... like this."

"Your kingdom sucks," Elsa blurted out. She clapped a hand over her flushed and very kissed mouth, but was relieved when Ilya laughed.

"I very much agree, Your Majesty."

"Elsa, please," the Queen begged, taking Ilya's hands in hers. "May I see you again?"

Ilya looked elated. "Of course."

* * *

Ilya spent the afternoon wandering the halls of the Arendelle castle. Her head and her heart were spinning like a top, ever since the Queen - _Elsa_, she corrected herself with a lovesick grin - had kissed her.

Finally. Here was a woman like her. And not only that - she was smart, caring, witty when she wished to be. Ilya had heard the stories about Arendelle and their Snow Queen. The Great Freeze. From what she had been told, Elsa had needed much encouragement to come out of her shell. It had something to do with her childhood, she was certain - Elsa had not dwelled on her upbringing as a princess when the topic had come up in their conversations.

Ilya was so distracted, that she barely noticed a small force barrel into her skirts. The shrieks of delight soon caught up with the physical collision.

"Vlad! Slow down!"

Ilya looked down to see the Princess's children had come tearing down the hall right into her. The boy looked to be pre-school-aged, the girl (the one called Elsabeth) appeared about seven. The baby was probably with her parents.

"Oh, excuse us, milady!" Elsabeth curtsied. When Vlad did nothing beyond staring at Ilya almost stupidly, she elbowed him, prompting him to bow.

Vlad blushed. "You're Auntie's very pretty friend." And his face turned even redder.

Ilya giggled. The little lad probably had a schoolboy crush on her. But his turn of phrase also raised the question: had Elsa spoken of her to her niece and nephew? Ilya's heart raced to wonder if she had.

Elsabeth now piped up. "Hey, do you wanna play tag with us?"

Ilya weighed the request. There would be no business conducted on the treaty today. She and Elsa would not be able to get a hold of themselves even if they tried. So she beamed at the little girl. "I'd be delighted! You're It!" Her hand snapped out and tapped Elsabeth on the forearm before the Lady took off laughing down the hall. Thrilled by the chase and attention, Vlad and Elsabeth pelted after Ilya with happy shouts.

* * *

For the rest of the two months, Elsa and Ilya continued to meet privately in Elsa's study, drafting the treaty between Arendelle and Prydain. Enough days were productive. Most of them were not.

When it came time for the final draft of the treaty to be signed, Elsa was left in anguish. She had found love, in a form that she had suspected suited her all along, and now it was to fly away on a ship to a distant land? Ilya was just as tormented.

After a wrenching and passionate kiss one night in her study, a few days before Ilya was to leave, Elsa moaned, "Must you go?"

"I don't want to," Ilya admitted readily.

"Then marry me," Elsa impulsively proposed marriage.

Ilya was stunned. "What?"

"Please. Stay with me and be my Queen. I can't live without you."

Ilya looked very tempted, but still spluttered. "How could we marry? It's against Arendelle law!"

"I don't care. I'm the Queen. I can change the law."

Ilya pressed a hand into Elsa's chest. "Elsa, don't say things like that. You can't be a dictator for me."

"I'm not being a dictator. I'm risking everything for the woman I love," Elsa stated flatly.

Ilya stepped back as if physically struck. Her brown orbs were wide. "You... love me?"

"Yes," Elsa breathed. And they sank into each other's arms. As Elsa and Ilya embraced and kissed, they did not notice two figures observing them through a crack in the door.


	6. Chapter 6: Love is Love

**Chapter 6: Love is Love**

Elsa's Cabinet was in an uproar over their Queen's announcement that she was to marry, and the presentation of her chosen suitor.

"It's an outrage! It's a blasphemous outrage!" Secretary Mattis was practically spitting in his venom.

"The Queen cannot take a bride! It's hideous!"

"Your Majesty," The Secretary of the Treasury warned. "If you go through with this, you will be forced to abdicate the throne."

Elsa took a deep breath, and reached for Ilya's hand. "So be it."

"No!" A child's cry could be heard just before the door to the Cabinet room burst open, admitting Elsabeth, Vladimir and their parents bringing up the rear with baby Christina. "Auntie Elsa and Lady Ilya love each other! If Auntie ablidicates, so do I!" Elsabeth was resolute in her vow, even as she fumbled the big-girl word.

"So do I," Vlad crowed.

Anna's eyes were steely. "And I."

"Can I abdicate something I've never wanted anyway?" Kristoff asked no one in particular.

Anna smirked at her husband. "Yes."

"Then so do I!" He turned to face down Mattis and the others, even as he bounced Christina. "Unless you actually want my youngest ruling over all of you, I suggest you think really hard before letting the monarchy go down the toilet," unknowingly echoing Mattis's own words.

Vlad clambered onto a chair and mirrored his father in challenging Mattis. "We're the royal family. You're just that one Cabinet guy. We outrank you!"

Mattis looked stunned, his head whipping from one royal to another. The rest of the Cabinet looked sufficiently cowed.

Elsa triumphantly smiled, even though the tears threatening to fall. "The wedding will be as soon as possible. Meeting adjourned."

* * *

Ilya took refuge in Elsa's study, bowing her head as she burst into sobs. Her bride-to-be was right behind, closing the door silently.

"What's wrong?"

Ilya just shook her head, bewildered. "From the mouth of babes..." she breathed. She almost found it funny. "From the mouth of babes..."

Elsa came up behind her and took her in her arms. "I'm grateful too."

Ilya beamed at her with pure love. "Your family is amazing."

As if on cue, Kristoff, Anna and the children came barging in without knocking. Anna looked from one woman to the other, amused. "Are we... interrupting something?" Neither Elsa nor Ilya could answer before Kristoff started rambling.

"Mattis is melting down harder than Olaf's popsicle stand on a sunny day!" He nearly cackled. "Serves him right; he's not worth a shit anyway!"

"Watch your language, reindeer man," Elsa warned, though she was smiling. Ilya wasn't so at ease.

"They'll try and stop it," she voiced nervously, her eyes going to Anna.

Anna grinned, throwing a shrug. "So what if they do? You guys don't need the big royal wedding, anyway. Kristoff and I did it for the people's sake, and even then he couldn't stand it!" She smiled flirtatiously in her husband's direction. Kristoff smirked sheepishly back.

"But a royal wedding is tradition in Arendelle," Elsa frowned.

"This isn't a... traditional couple," Anna argued back. "It's much more beautiful than that. So we can afford to break a couple more traditions." Her eyes widened, a familiar glint in them, and Elsa sensed what was coming.

"Anna...?"

"Yes, this could totally work!" Anna began running away with her new thread. "We wait until the castle is asleep, then we all sneak out of the palace, out of the kingdom and go to the Ice Palace on the North Mountain. You and Ilya can get married there, in the presence of our family!"

The kids cheered. Kristoff eyes gleamed even brighter than his wife's. "I'll hitch up Sven!"

"Now that is _quite_ enough!" Elsa shot down in her best regal voice.

"You and Ms. Ilya deserve to be happy, Auntie," Elsabeth reasoned. "A big royal wedding won't do it, even if the Cabinet _did_ approve of the marriage, and _you're_ the one getting married!"

"There you go," Anna smiled smugly.

"And we're the royal family. We have all the power to do what we want. We bind the marriage now, and then ram through an official ceremony later!" Vlad added.

"There you go _again_!" Anna laughed.

Elsa bit her lip. She already knew that she had lost. If her family was willing to go the extra mile for her and her girlfriend, who was she to look a gift horse in the mouth? Her eyes finally met Ilya's. She would not go forward with this without her. When Ilya nodded, Elsa echoed it. "Let's do it." The kids shouted in approval again, with their Aunt quickly shushing them. "But first, to bed with all of you!"

Kristoff nodded. "We leave at midnight."

* * *

Elsa and Ilya quietly tiptoed into the nursery. Splitting up so they each took a bed, the couple went to rouse the children.

"Vladimir... Vladdy..." Elsa crooned. "Wake up, my love. It's time."

Vladimir snapped awake, retrieving a glow stick from under his pillow. He slept lightly, it seemed. Just like his father.

"Let's go," his voice unusually serious for a four-year-old.

Across the room, Ilya was helping Elsabeth out of her bed. "Go wake your sister." Elsabeth went over to the crib and lifted Christina out. The infant hardly stirred. Oh, well. Having the baby awake wasn't exactly essential.

The two brides guided the children down to a back door of the castle, where Kristoff and Anna were waiting for them. Kristoff held a finger to his lips, quelling his children's squeals.

The royal family hustled across the rear courtyard to the royal stables. Kristoff broke in quietly, nudging his shoulder into the door until it gave. Sven raised his head, waiting for them.

"Where the heck have you been, slowpoke?" Kristoff growled in Sven's voice.

"Got held up, buddy. I'm a family man, remember?" Kristoff replied.

"Ugh, you've really let yourself go," Sven huffed.

Ilya glanced to Elsa. "Explain to me what's going on, exactly?"

"Oh, that I could," Elsa sighed, her eyes twinkling with mirth.

"Wait! We forgot Olaf!" Elsabeth cried, turning for the stable door, but Kristoff held her back, even as he finished readying the sleigh.

"Don't worry about him now, he'll be all right! We'll tell him when we come back in the morning." What Kristoff didn't say was that he feared Olaf would be too loud as the entire family tried to essentially sneak out of the kingdom. He strapped down the harness. "All aboard, everybody!"

"Who's Olaf?" Ilya asked as Elsa helped her into the sleigh.

"Family snowman," Elsa brushed off.

Ilya nearly tripped. "Family... snowman?"

"I'll explain."

"You have some serious 'splaining to do," Ilya observed of her soon-to-be wife.

Kristoff took the reins. "Grab onto something, Ilya! We like to go fast!"

Ilya laughed. "A daredevil for a brother-in-law! I like! Do your thing, reindeer man!"

Kristoff clicked the reins. "Sven: go. Hi-ya! Ya!"

The sleigh shot out of the stables, maneuvered around to the front of the palace and out the front gates. The Arendelle villages soon turned into wilderness.

Elsabeth and Vladimir quickly passed out with their sister in the back, and Kristoff let them. "We'll wake them up when we get there." Anna sleepily laid her head on her husband's shoulder.

"And when will we get there, exactly?"

"Well, if I push Sven to the limit... maybe an hour before dawn."

Anna jolted up as if burned. "Hour before dawn? You said we'd be back by morning!"

"I calculated wrong. When we come right back, I'll make something up!"

Anna frowned. "Mattis won't believe a word you say."

"_Mattis_ is so dumb, he wouldn't know how to pour melted snow out of a boot if the instructions were stamped on the bottom!" Kristoff growled. "I can pull one over on him, trust me."

They reached the Arendellian foothills, passing by Wandering Oaken's Trading Post and Sauna in record time and in silence. Elsa finally broke it when she realized something.

"Wait: who's going to marry us?"

Anna winced. "Didn't think about that. Is it too late to turn around?" She reached for the reins, but Kristoff fought her off.

"No, we cannot ask the Bishop to marry them. And no, we are not going back to get Olaf. Honestly, you're as bad as the kids!"

"But who's going to officiate?" Anna whined.

"Marshmallow could do it. He's already there at the Ice Palace."

"I am _not_ having a giant abominable snowman conduct my wedding!" Elsa snarled. Ilya let out something between a whimper and a squeak.

"You have an abominable snowman? Are there... any more I should know about?"

"Nope, just those two," Anna called over her shoulder.

Kristoff's brow was furrowed, thinking hard. "Sven - pull over. I've got an idea."

They had reached the hot springs where Kristoff's troll family lived. Stopping in front of a bunch of boulders, Kristoff put his fingers to his lips and blew a sharp whistle. "Hey, guys! Wanna come to a wedding?" He clicked the reins again before there was an answer, but soon Ilya looked back to see a horde of trolls running after the sleigh.

The journey went faster and faster now, Sven putting in a Herculean effort. The sky was still not gray by the time the group reached the summit of the North Mountain, where the Ice Palace awaited. Ilya's jaw dropped.

"Elsa... did you... make that?"

Elsa smiled proudly. "Yup. I only come up here a couple times a year. Do you like it?"

"I love it," Ilya beamed. She turned to her bride adoringly. "And I love you."

Marshmallow let them in, Ilya trying not to appear as scared as she actually was upon seeing the abominable snowman. Everyone climbed the grand staircase to the top floor. The royal family proceeded out onto Elsa's balcony, with Anna emotionally giving her sister away. Grand Pabbie conducted the ceremony.

After the elderly troll pronounced the Queen and her lover wife and... wife, Elsa and Ilya embraced and kissed longingly, captured in the light of the rising sun. Elsabeth and Vladimir, bleary-eyed, led the clapping and cheering, accidentally waking baby Christina up. The trolls were even more raucous, but it hardly mattered. The family was complete. Queen Elsa of Arendelle was married.

Elsabeth ran up to her aunt and threw her arms around her middle. "Auntie! Now you have someone to kiss you the way Daddy kisses Mommy!"

Elsa smiled. "Why…. Yes. I suppose I do." She turned to Ilya. "I love my wife," she proclaimed with conviction.

Ilya grinned. "I second that."

And the couple stole another, relieved kiss.


	7. Chapter 7: Stay Alive

**Chapter 7: Stay Alive**

Days later, Queen Elsa and her new wife stood before the kingdom of Arendelle in the very same tiny little chapel where Elsa had been coronated as Queen several years earlier. Kristoff had spun a yarn to Secretary Mattis about the royal family's joyride up the North Mountain in the middle of the night. Elsa couldn't remember exactly what the cover story was, only that Mattis had bought it sight unseen. She never gave Kristoff enough credit - he was quite intelligent and quick on his feet. For that she was thankful.

Elsa and Ilya exchanged rings and vows, and the Bishop then said, "If there is anyone here who does not wish to see these women wed, let them by God stand up." Off to the side, Princess Anna and her family stared out at the congregation expectantly, anticipating nothing but using their regal aura to stare everyone down nonetheless.

So it came as a shock when two men not only stood up, but rushed for the altar, throwing back their hoods. When Anna saw the face of the man in the lead, her blood ran cold.

"I object!" Prince Hans of the Southern Isles bellowed as he dove forward, a hand plunging into his robes to retrieve a glistening blade. For if there was one thing that made Hans dangerous, it was attempted assassination.

The Arendelle guards were caught flat-footed, as Hans' partner, who turned out to be none other than the Duke of Weselton, cried out, "Kill her!" A terrified Ilya shrank against her wife as Hans went for the couple, without any guards to get in the way.

But someone else did.

Hans' blade found an unexpected mark, as little Vladimir leaped into the path of his aunts. There was a sickening crunch as the blade sank into his stomach, the little boy's interception so fast that Hans never really saw it, and so could do nothing to stop the inertia of his thrust.

No one in the chapel was more shocked than Hans, who not only was flummoxed to see his plan wrecked by a child, but that the lad was no doubt the son of Princess Anna.

As for Vladimir, he had overheard enough stories about Hans, even if he had not yet connected the man with the face now before him.

With a broadsword still in his chest, Vlad spat up blood as he got out, "You really need to work on your aim."

Hans' face twitched. Then with an angry roar, he moved to push the boy aside and finish the job with his bare hands, if he had to. Yet, it was with surprising strength that Vladimir actually held him back, his hands gripping anything within reach - Hans' wrist, his face.

And that touch set off the most astonishing moment of the whole fiasco.

Hans was stumbling back, away from the altar, his mouth dropped open in a scream that was soon wrenched from his throat. As he watched flames greedily lick up his arms, spread onto his cheeks. "What is this magic?!" Vladimir had just as little understanding, staring in shock at his own gnarled hands and then back at what those very hands seemed to have done. Were doing - and that was burning a man to death.

"Fool! Get the Queen!" Weselton shrieked, hopping up and down on his feet like an enraged elf.

Hans' screams were sickening as the flames consumed him unabated - until the evil Prince turned to ash, a pile of which fluttered to the carpet. No one made an attempt to halt the inferno. Vladimir, for his part, stumbled and swayed, turning back towards his aunts before his legs gave out and he collapsed upon the altar steps.

"VLADDY!" Elsa screamed, holding her bridal skirts up as she rushed to his side and knelt. She cradled him in her lap. "No... no... please, no... Oh, Vladdy!" And she hugged her nephew close, coming apart in heaving sobs.

None of the family seemed to notice Weselton hesitantly approaching. He appeared to have no weapon, and even if he did, he was in no position - with his short stature and the now-alert guards - to threaten the Queen. All the same, he shook his head. "Monsters. Like aunt, like nephew..."

The icicle appeared from nowhere, the sharpened tip piercing straight through the Duke's head, crushing his skull. He died almost instantly, held in the gaze of Elsa's murderous eyes, nearly red with rage.

The Bishop was shaking as he made the sign of the cross. "I now pronounce this couple wife and wife. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, Amen."

Elsa and Ilya shared a frantic, scared kiss. And only then, now sanctioned with a priest's permission, did all hell broke loose.

* * *

Elsa carried her little nephew in her arms as she ran, out of the chapel and back into the castle. Her bodyguards could hardly keep up with her, and the rest of the royal family fared little better. Kristoff and Anna had to practically sprint, screaming for their son.

"You're OK, Vladdy..." Elsa crooned, to her little nephew as well as to herself. Cuddled against her breast, Elsa could feel that Vladimir was still alive, but only just. He was groaning, swaying and slurring, his eyes glassy, unfocused and rolling around in his head. He looked small, far too small - not much smaller than Anna had been when she... The flashback to another relative's life threatened only made the Queen run faster.

Elsa quickly found the royal family's personal physician. "Doctor, help! Help! My nephew needs help; he's been stabbed."

"Of course, Your Majesty. Bring the boy to me! Your Highnesses, welcome, if you'll please step this way..." The royal doctor admitted Anna and Kristoff, and set to work.

"Doctor, please save my baby! Please!" Elsa was screaming hysterically, crying, wringing her hands and looking utterly distraught. She seemed to have little grasp on what she was actually saying. Kristoff briefly debated removing his sister-in-law from the room for her own safety, but had no idea how that might go. And anyway, he had never been fully comfortable commanding the palace guards, though he had the authority to do so.

Yet when the Doctor turned to Kristoff and practically begged him, "Get her out of here!" Kristoff felt he had no choice but to pick his sister-in-law up in his arms and carry her, thrashing, from the room. Elsa put up a pretty good fight, enough for Kristoff to have to turn to Ilya for help. Together, the two of them got her out into the hall and worked to calm her down.

"Vlad will come through," Kristoff said firmly, though he felt he was convincing himself more than Elsa or anyone. "Anna's with him."

Minutes passed like hours. Hours passed like days. Ilya encouraged Kristoff to go see his son, then report back to them when he could.

The moon was high in the sky when Kristoff finally came back with definitive news: "They've gotten the sword out. Emergency surgery. But... he's alive."

Elsa clapped a hand over her mouth, and sobbed, overcome with relief. Ilya held her soothingly.

"Do you want to...?" Kristoff hadn't even finished the question when Elsa was pushing him aside and barging into the room. She practically threw herself over a weakened Vladimir, covering his upturned face with kisses and tears.

"Oh... Oh!"

"I'm all right, Auntie, really..." Vlad chirped weakly.

Elsa was beaming, kissing her nephew again and again. It didn't even cross her mind that her nephew had saved her life. She was just glad he was safe. "Vladdy can have anything he wants! Anything at all! Auntie's just so happy her boy is all better!" When Elsa had finally gotten a hold of herself, she allowed herself to replay the events from her second wedding. And when she did...

"Vladdy... how did you do that? Burn Hans?"

Vladimir bit his lip. "I don't know," he admitted honestly. And he stared at his hands again, with a look in his eyes that Elsa knew all too well: fear. Fear over new power and what to do with it, never mind how to control it.

But a fear that was greater still, and only just beginning to recede, was Elsa's over how close she came today to losing family - again. She wouldn't let Vladimir feel that fear - not over loss, the powers he seemed to have, or anything else. What kind of aunt would she be if she did? That was what inspired her to take Vladimir's hands in her own and promise, "I'm going to help you use them."

Vladimir grinned with hope. "Really?"

Elsa smiled back. "Really."


	8. Chapter 8: Good Person

**Chapter 8: Good Person**

It was about a year later when the whole royal family gathered together on the Arendelle docks. Elsa was doing a good job of mashing the fabric of her skirts with her nervous hands, even as toddler Christina danced around at her feet. Just then, Kristoff and Anna came down the gangplank.

"All our things have been loaded. They're gonna cast off soon. The captain wants to sail with the tide," Kristoff informed his sister-in-law.

Elsa gazed at him fretfully. "Do you have to go?" It had not been her decision to send her sister and brother-in-law on a diplomatic mission to Corona - the Prime Minister and members of her Cabinet had suggested it. And when Anna had readily agreed to the assignment - provided Kristoff went with her - Elsa knew she couldn't really stop her family. Besides, Rapunzel was a cousin, family herself, and would take good care of them.

"We'll be fine, Elsa," Kristoff soothed, unknowingly echoing his dead father-in-law.

Elsa felt tears pool at her eyes. "I've heard that before, only to be disappointed."

Kristoff chuckled. "We are going on a completely different route, to a completely different kingdom. Besides, bad luck never strikes the same family twice now, does it?"

Elsa blinked. "Where did you hear that?"

"Nowhere. I just believe it. If I didn't, you think any of us would be here?" He made a valid point. Anna would still be frozen solid. Elsa would be dead in cold blood. Her nephew too, although in such a drastically different timeline, neither he nor his sisters would have existed.

The pair regarded each other, Kristoff still with that easy smile. Elsa chastely pecked him on the cheek, then the lips, before wrapping him in a hug. "Sail safe," she implored. Then she turned to her sister and clutched her tightly. "I love you."

Anna nodded against her. "I know. I love you too. Look after my babies?"

"On my honor," Elsa vowed. She broke away and stood aside, allowing Ilya to step forward and say her farewells, corral the kids into doing so one by one. Kristoff and Anna then boarded the boat, after quite a few kisses were bestowed on their little ones.

"Be safe!" Elsa called out as she waved, resting her head on Ilya's shoulder as they and the children watched the boat sail off towards the sunset.

* * *

When the messenger from Corona came, more than a week later, bearing a note from Rapunzel relating how the Arendelle ship had never made it to port, Elsa fell to her knees with a wail. The noise caused Ilya to come running to the study, only to break down in sobs herself.

Like with the former King and Queen decades before, the royal portrait of Princess Anna and Prince Consort Kristoff was shrouded in black. There would be no avoiding the funeral - a journey into the misty graveyard - this time for Elsa, who clothed herself in mourning garb, along with her wife, nieces and nephew. The three children stood solemnly, Christina whimpering. The baby was still too little to understand; poor Elsabeth and Vladimir understood all too well, though they were far too young to have to.

Elsa and Ilya returned to the palace and morosely put the children to bed in the nursery. The Queen would have fled from the room the moment the bedclothes were turned down, but Elsabeth asked for a lullaby so sweetly that Auntie could not find it in her heart to refuse her.

And so, Elsa began to sing the song that her mom - the Queen Mother - had sung to her as a child, and sung to Anna after her. _"Tender shepherd, tender shepherd, let me help you count your sheep. One in the meadow, two in the garden, three in the nursery fast asleep. Tender shepherd, tender shepherd, let me help you count your sheep. One, say your prayers and two, close your eyes and three, safe and happily fall asleep... Fall a-"_ She couldn't finish, finally fleeing from the room in tears. Poor Ilya was left to turn out the light, murmur sweet nothings to the babies who were now deeply distressed that Auntie Elsa was in such a state.

Elsa and Ilya prepared the bed they shared in silence. The night after their first wedding, they had made quiet, unwieldy love in Elsa's private chambers in the ice palace. After their second wedding, on a night very similar in tone to this one, the uncertainty of Vladimir's condition had left them with no thought about doing anything at all. Wife and wife simply resolved to hold each other in their bed and find some way (likely fruitless) of slipping into dreams. After a time, Ilya began to caress and press light kisses into Elsa's skin.

Elsa knew well what her wife's mouth could do to her, the heights it could bring her to. True bliss came when Ilya would use her hands and her mouth to make Elsa's body sing. But tonight, Ilya's gentle caresses had absolutely no effect. Finally, she gave up, and the couple lay side by side in silence.

"Am I a good person?" Elsa asked to the ceiling. The mattress shifted as Ilya rolled over, facing her with a concerned frown. The Queen Consort was quiet for a moment.

"You're hesitating..." Elsa's voice was tinged with fear.

"I know the answer. What I can't fathom is why you feel the need to ask that question at all," Ilya stared.

Elsa's features softened, but it was small comfort. "Oh, I don't know," she murmured bitterly. "Half of my family has been lost at sea, and I let them go! Wouldn't that make you feel like a bad person too? And what about the children?"

Ilya blinked. "What about them? Anna and Kristoff entrusted them to us. To _you_."

"They didn't exactly _say_ that," Elsa nitpicked.

"I didn't think they had to! And Anna and Kristoff didn't think they had to either! We're family, all of us - if we break apart, we have nothing left!" Ilya chided. "Right now, we raise Elsabeth, Vladimir and Christina the way that Anna and Kristoff would have wanted. And that _is_ what they would have wanted." Ilya sighed. "You are the most wonderful person I've ever known, my love. And also the strongest. If you were neither, do you think you'd be here right now? I think not."

Elsa huffed out a breath of her own. "Why do you always have to be right?"

"I'm not always right. Just practical."

"Then why did you ask the question?" Elsa queried, almost amused.

"Because I wasn't the one who needed to hear the answer. _You_ were."

* * *

When Prime Minister Cameron called for a meeting in the palace Treaty Room, unexpectedly one Saturday morning about two months after Anna and Kristoff's deaths, Elsa didn't feel any concern. At least until the Prime Minister stipulated that the Queen bring her wife and her sister's children with them.

When the royal family arrived in the Treaty Room, they found the whole of Elsa's Cabinet waiting for them. The Prime Minister rose from his seat to address the room. "Your Majesties, the Cabinet and I have been talking, going over the wills for the Princess and Prince Consort, and... in the absence of express wishes as to the matter of guardianship... we feel it would be best for the little prince and princesses to be sent to the local orphanage."

Elsa's jaw dropped. "No," she heard Ilya whisper behind her. All three children promptly burst into tears and burrowed themselves into the fold of Aunt Elsa's dress, as if that might shield them.

"No," Elsa suddenly found her voice, and it was much stronger than her wife's.

The Prime Minister blinked. "I beg your pardon, Your Majesty?"

"Prime Minister, you will not be taking my sister's babies anywhere. I am the Queen of Arendelle, and this concerns my family. And I know the ways of my sister's heart. Her wishes were for her children to stay with me. And if you try and deny me that, I will freeze this entire land again to Kingdom Come!" Before she could restrain herself, a gust of wind flew through the room, and flurries of snow and frost blanketed the floors and the walls. The Prime Minister and some other Cabinet members attempted to advance, pleading with their Queen to see reason, but Elsa barked, "The next person who takes another step will be frozen where they stand!" Everyone froze - metaphorically speaking. "My sister's babies will stay with me until they are grown. Are we clear?" No answer. "I am the Queen, and I asked you if we're clear!"

There was much mumbling that followed, acquiescing to the Queen's demand. Elsa hugged her three charges close, resolute in her vow that they would never be taken out of her sight ever.


	9. Chapter 9: Heir to the Throne

**Chapter 9: Heir to the Throne**

The brief debate over the fate of the Princess's offspring was not the last question concerning children in the royal family. Though Elsa did not go so far as to adopt her sister's little ones, the placement of them in her care did leave some in Arendelle confused. With the devastating loss of the Princess, was little Elsabeth next in line to succeed her aunt to the throne? Of course not, many said. Unless...

Thus, the pestering regarding Elsa having her own child began anew. Never mind that the clamoring was quieter now - with the Queen's sexuality and her choice of marriage partner clear, most of Arendelle's subjects had given up hope that the Queen would fall pregnant with a child. How could it be done?

That didn't mean the question did not create pressure on the monarchy. For years, Ilya had dreamed off having her own baby. And she wanted to have one with Elsa, the love of her life.

"But how can we?" Elsa asked what everyone else was thinking, one night as the couple was preparing for bed.

"Take a lover. Lie down with a man," Ilya shrugged.

Elsa gawped at this cavalier answer. "And dishonor my wedding vows? Dishonor you?"

"If this is what has to be done, it doesn't bother me!" Ilya insisted.

"It bothers _me_," Elsa made clear.

"Well, what do you propose we do, then? Adopt?"

"For a child to be my heir, they have to share my blood. Royal blood. Directly descended from me," Elsa stipulated. "And I'm not going to amend the law so that Elsabeth or Vladimir might one day rule. I refuse to burden them with that."

There was a sudden knock on the door. Elsa's manservant, Levi, poked his head in. He was the Queen's age, had served her since she was a child, starting as a page boy.

"I have Your Majesty's nightly dessert here," he reported.

Elsa waved a hand. "Bring it forth, Levi."

Levi bowed. "As you wish." That was all Levi ever said when given a direct order. It was a phrase uttered with abject devotion, murmured almost like a prayer. By now, Elsa was too accustomed to Levi's ways to notice. But Ilya did notice, especially how Levi seemed to blush as he bowed to his Queen and exited the room.

Ilya turned to her wife, a glint in her eye. "That poor boy is in love with you," she proclaimed.

Elsa's first instinct was to laugh. "In love? With me? Surely you jest!"

Ilya shrugged, jerking her thumb to the door. "Why don't you sleep with him? I bet you dollars to donuts his boys are fresh. You take him to bed, maybe he could give us a baby."

Elsa nearly choked on her treacle tart. "You want me to sleep with my manservant?"

Again, Ilya shrugged, as if she had just suggested they go horseback-riding on Sven. "It's just an idea. At least he's pleasant enough to look at, and I'm gay as hell!"

Elsa scoffed, and moved to lie down beside her wife. But even as she tried to go to sleep, the idea could not be completely banished from her mind. Enough so that she was possessed to blurt out into the darkness.

"One time. And if I don't conceive, we think of something else."

* * *

Several nights later, Elsa sent Ilya to sleep in the children's nursery. Like clockwork, well after dark, Levi appeared with Elsa's dessert tray. Elsa admitted him gratefully, only to then place the dessert aside.

"May I ask what bothers Her Majesty?" Levi asked. "You've not touched your dessert."

Elsa pursed her lips nervously, then patted the bedspread beside her. Curious, Levi sat down next to her.

"Levi... if I ask you something, will you answer me honestly?"

"Of course," Levi replied readily, his brow furrowed.

Elsa fixed him with her most knowing stare. "How long have you been in love with me?"

Levi tellingly flushed bright red and stammered out, "W-Wherever did Your Majesty get that idea?"

"Many things," Elsa replied, not bothering to enumerate them. If Ilya's hunch was correct, she didn't have to, though she could nonetheless think of a few reasons. Levi's loyalty for years on end being just one of them. Elsa sighed. "People are... expecting me to produce an heir. And I can't do so with my wife." Elsa forced her eyes to his again. "I feel I might need to... take a lover. And so... I choose you." Elsa dared to lightly frame his face, her fingers drumming along his jawline contemplatively. "Would that be all right?"

Levi was gaping, though if Elsa looked down, she could clearly see that he was... excited. "I... I only live to serve my Queen."

"Then make love to me. Please," Elsa commanded softly.

Elsa felt Levi caress her cheek, his features tempted. "As you wish." That last whisper came before his lips sealed over hers.

Elsa gasped into the kiss. Levi tasted nice and soft, but she did not feel the stirring, the fluttering in her chest, the way she did when Ilya kissed her. Poor boy. How long had "As you wish" meant the same as "I love you"? Had she been blind? Well, let it be. If she became impregnated, great with child, Levi was a worthy father. Though to spare him, she would never reveal his identity, should their union produce an heir.

The Queen and her manservant fell back onto the bed, still kissing. Levi undressed Elsa tenderly, and Elsa imagined she was kissing her wife, the wife who now slept only doors away with their charges. Spreading her legs, Elsa guided Levi so that he straddled her, lining him up with her womanliness. As Levi gained entry past the petals of her sex, Elsa threw back her head from the pain. Levi's movements were uncertain, and for someone as aroused as he surely was, he was really kind and gentle. The pair's bodies slapped together as they unified faster and faster, their skin quickly becoming slick with sweat, Elsa groaning with pleasure in spite of herself. The Queen's bed creaked and swayed.

"Harder... faster... please," Elsa panted. Levi gave nothing in reply, but at last, with a shudder, he collapsed on top of her and split all he had inside of her. Elsa did not reach her climax, but she had not expected to. She only hoped that the deed was done, and done well.

Elsa kept her lover in her bed until dawn. Then, she dismissed with a fumbled thanks and a gentle kiss goodbye. "You've done well, my good and faithful servant."

* * *

A baby did not result from the union between the Queen and her manservant. Elsa didn't know whether she should have been surprised or not. Ilya certainly was disappointed, as Elsa would not entertain making love to her manservant ever again.

"So now what do we do?" Ilya pondered one night, long after the little ones had drifted off to sleep.

Elsa was quiet for a moment. And then...

She sat right up in bed. "I have a brilliant, beyond brilliant idea!"

"Huh?"

"The trolls. The trolls can use magic to give us a baby."

Ilya frowned. "You mean the trolls that crashed our first wedding?"

"They didn't _crash_ it; they're Kristoff's family. He was raised by trolls. And they loved him and Anna. They would do this for us."

"So what do we do - take Sven and the sleigh for a joyride?" Ilya meant for it to be a joke. But from the way her wife's eyes gleamed, she should have known that was exactly what they would be doing.

The Queens departed for the North Mountain that very night, leaving guards posted outside the nursery. When they arrived at the hot springs home of Kristoff's troll family, Elsa called out, "Grand Pabbie! Come on out! I have a request!"

The boulders rolled and unfurled to reveal the trolls. Bulda, Kristoff's mother, stepped forward. "Your Majesty! How do my grandbabies fare?"

"They sleep soundly, just like their father," Elsa soothed with a smile. "But where's Grand Pabbie?"

The head troll now stepped forward. "What can we do for Your Majesties?"

"Grand Pabbie, if I asked you to give Ilya and I a baby and place it inside me, could you do it?"

Grand Pabbie considered the question for a moment. "I feel quite certain of it," he concluded. His eyes narrowed knowingly. "The Queen of Arendelle must have an heir." And with that, he waved his hands. Energy seemed to fill the space from everywhere, the green and mossy plain warming as Elsa was suddenly lifted off her feet and into the air. Moments later, the bright lights around her faded and she floated back down to Earth, swooning into Ilya's arms.

"Take her home," Grand Pabbie commanded the Queen Consort. "The magic should not fail."

And so Ilya raced her hopefully pregnant wife back to the palace.

* * *

Nine months later, Ilya found herself anxiously waiting outside her and Elsa's chambers with three equally anxious children, all under the age of 10. The door to the Queens' private residence would occasionally open and shut to let midwives in or out. Kai and Gerda did most of the supervising where the childbirth was concerned. Occasionally, behind the doors, Ilya could hear her beloved wife wailing in agony as she attempted to bring Arendelle's heir into the world.

At last, many hours later, and with Anna's children asleep in her arms, Kai came out to report to the Queen Consort.

"The Queen has given birth. It is a bouncing baby boy."

Ilya felt tears spring to her eyes in relief, and with Kai's help, she managed to bring both of her nieces and her nephew in tow, sleeping as they were. Elsa was propped up in their bed with pillows, looking tired but happy. A blue bundle was just being nestled into her arms, and as Ilya bent to kiss her wife, she could clearly see that their son was the most beautiful blend of both of its mothers.

"It's you..." Elsa breathed in wonder, feeling as though she was emerging from a dream. "You're gorgeous. And I... I made you?" A single tear rolled down her cheek, as here was living, breathing proof that she had done something right in her life. Besides, of course, having Anna for a sister.

Anna... if only she could see this...

"Anakin," Elsa crooned out the name of her child. She had always wanted to honor her sister with any child of hers, just as Anna had done with Elsabeth oh so long ago. When the Queen had first come to be with child, and had learned that it was a boy she carried, she had needed to get creative. Elsa had secretly wished for the baby to be a girl, but now, gazing into her son's eyes, that didn't seem to matter. She was a mother, at last.

And Arendelle had its heir. The future King. Somewhere up above, Elsa's parents, Anna and Kristoff were smiling.


	10. Chapter 10: Domestic Royal Life

**Chapter 10: Domestic Royal Life**

The sky was awake, barely gray, as 7-year-old Vladimir tiptoed into his aunts' room. The chambers of the Queens' private residence were peaceful and silent, punctuated by the boy's baby cousin, Anakin, sleeping in the bassinet at the foot of his parents' bed. That crib had been used for Christina, and Vladimir before her, and Elsabeth before him. And now, Vladimir ran around it as he clambered up onto the royals' bed.

"Auntie Elsa! Auntie Elsa! Come on, Auntie, we gotta go, wake up! The sky's awake!" There was slight groaning and shifting underneath him, but neither Aunt Elsa nor Aunt Ilya moved in any significant way that indicated an enthusiasm for rising. "Aunt Elsa?" Vladimir pouted.

"Your nephew's awake," Ilya mumbled to her wife through a yawn, as if the boy wasn't there.

Elsa huffed in a very un-Queenly manner. "Before sunrise, he's _your_ nephew," attempting to pass the buck to her spouse.

"Aunt Elsa, come on! You promised!" Vladimir's pleading eyes - the eyes of his late mother - did the trick.

"OK, OK. I'm up, I'm up!"

Vladimir cheered and scampered for the door, as Elsa slowly rose to face the new day much earlier than she would have liked. After getting dressed, aunt and nephew exited the palace and strolled into the foothills just overlooking the kingdom. Vladimir's father had worked this land, harvesting ice, and eagerly digesting his aunt's stories about him helped to pass the time and trek.

On a small outcropping, Elsa turned to Vladimir. "Ready?"

Vladimir nodded, then sent a tongue of flames her way. Elsa's ice quickly froze the fire into little shards. And the two powerful royals continued to practice, trading elemental barbs for the rest of the morning.

* * *

Elsa could not remember exactly how the argument started. Only that she and Elsabeth were now arguing at each other with raised voices. Aunt Elsa did not care what her namesake's excuses were - she was the Queen. Her aunt and guardian. And as such, Elsabeth needed to learn to mind her. She was 10, the eldest royal child, and needed to learn responsibility.

Elsabeth now attempted to storm from Elsa's study in a huff. "What else do you want from me?" Elsa was demanding. When no answer was forthwith, she put on her best regal voice, "Don't you turn your back on me, Elsabeth Genevieve Bjorgman - tell me what you want!"

The little girl spun around at the door, tears threatening to escape her eyes. "My mom!" And she fled for her room, sobbing. Elsa let her go, and attempted to combat the pain in her heart by going over reports. After about half an hour, she gave up and took a circuitous route to her niece's bedroom.

Elsabeth had been provided with her own room, not long after Anakin was born. Vladimir and Christina still slept in the nursery, though the boy would be getting his own room soon, too. Holding her breath, Elsa knocked on the door, using the familiar pattern that Anna used when they were children. No answer. Frowning, Elsa cautiously peeked in. There was her niece on the bed, unmoving. An easy rise and fall of her chest. She appeared to be sleeping. However, when Elsabeth turned her head, her eyes were wide open. Seeing the intruder was her aunt, she rolled over again, facing away from her.

Elsa bit her lip, but undeterred, sat on the edge of the bed, and gently caressed her niece's back. She was encouraged when Elsabeth did not immediately shrug her off.

"Have I ever told you the story of our first moments together? After you were born?"

Again, Elsabeth did not reply, so the Queen continued on.

"I waited all day and most of the night for you. Finally, your daddy came out with you and placed you in my arms." She sighed wistfully. "I had never seen anyone or anything so beautiful - and that was before I even met your Aunt Ilya. Your mommy was pretty tired, so I kept you with me that night and all the way into the next. I rocked you. I played with you. I sang to you. I danced you around my study. It was hard for me not to be around you sometimes, even with my duties as Queen."

By now, she had Elsabeth's full attention, and the little girl didn't even look angry anymore. Just... tentative. And maybe a little remorseful. "So... you really _do_ love me?"

Elsa held her close, laughing even as her throat threatened to clog up. "Oh, _darling_! I've loved you your whole life."

A sudden noise from the open doorway made both women look up. Levi was standing in the entryway, blubbering like a baby. "I've never been so happy in my _entire_ _life_!" he almost squeaked through his tears, sobbing as a grimacing Kai awkwardly moved to close the bedroom door for privacy, and also console his emotional colleague.


	11. Chapter 11: Blended Family

**Chapter 11: Blended Family**

The ivory keys plinked as young Prince Anakin attempted to master the sheet music placed in front of him. Over his shoulder, his first mother, Elsa, observed his progress closely. Slowly, she sang the melody, taking him through the scales.

"Un-deux-trois-quatre-cinq-six-sept-huit-neuf" mother and son sang together.

"Good," Elsa praised, then started again. "Un-deux-trois-quatre-cinq-six-sept-huit-neuf"

"Sept-huit-neuf," Anakin sounded out.

"Sept-huit-neuf," Elsa tweaked the notes.

"Sept-huit-neuf," Anakin echoed, more accurately this time.

"One-two-three-four-five-six-seven-eight -"

"Nine!" Ilya belted nasally, poking her head into the study and interrupting the piano lesson. Elsa just rolled her eyes. As Anakin had grown into boyhood, she had insisted that her son receive the most worldly education possible. Lessons in music, French, arithmetic, Latin. After all, he was going to be King some day. He needed to have a well-rounded perspective to be an even-handed ruler. Having never been quite the student, Ilya had very different views on education, wanting Anakin - or "Ani," as he was sometimes called - to have a balanced childhood as well. Filled with fun as much as reading and writing. After all, children really did grow up so fast - the little heir to the throne was nine years old today, hence his second mother's joke as she now entered the study carrying a birthday cake. Scampering after her were the two young princesses - 13-year-old Christina, followed by Elsabeth, now a blossomed young woman of 19.

"Come on, Ani! Clear away the music! It's time for your party!" Elsabeth ruffled her little cousin's hair. Elsa reluctantly acquiesced to pausing the music lesson for the day, cleaning her desk so the cake could be placed upon it.

"Where's Vladdy?" Elsa asked her youngest niece.

Christina retracted a hand from the delicious and tempting cake before Elsabeth could swat at it. "He's coming now. He should be finishing up with his chores for Sven in the stables."

A moment later, Vladimir - a handsome youth of 16 - entered the study, huffing out an exhausted breath and leaning against the door. "It's a party now!" he crowed, smiling tiredly, as Elsa rushed to embrace him. When her nephew was old enough, he had been granted permission to take over his late father's old duties as the Arendelle Ice Master and Deliverer. Despite his youth, he had taken to the task quite well, and was even training an apprentice to one day succeed after him. Whenever her nephew ventured into the snowy hills and mountains beyond Arendelle, Elsa fretted for his safety, much as Anna (and she herself somewhat) had for Kristoff. But Vladimir didn't seem to mind the danger - being stabbed with a sword in an assassination attempt had left him with a devil-may-care attitude. The scars across his stomach from Hans' sword had faded somewhat, yet did little to dampen the boy's sense of adventure. Though he wasn't much of a boy anymore; he presented himself very much like a man, sporting a pronounced mustache and goatee - blond in color, like his father. Yet, the facial hair seemed to suit him handsomely in a way that it most certainly had not for Kristoff. Vladimir didn't seem to mind his station, once telling his aunt, "Aunt Elsa, I'm never going to be King! The title of Prince is just fine to me. And I want to work with my hands, honor my father. I can't very well do that meeting dignitaries and drafting treaties all day!"

Ilya pulled out a chair for her son. "Let's go! Let's make a wish, Ani! Blow out the candles!"

Anakin contemplated the cake for a moment, then blew the candle out in one go. This time, Christina's impatience got the better of her, and she was rewarded with a smack on the hand from her sister. "Wait to be served, like a lady," Elsabeth admonished. Elsa did her best to hide her smirk, as she set about serving the children. Vladimir nibbled at his slice in tiny bites. He nudged Anakin.

"Come on, whatcha wish for?"

"Not telling!" Anakin chirped. "Then it won't come true. Right, Mama?"

Elsa smiled adoringly at her son. "That's right, my little King." And looking around at her family, Elsa knew that all her wishes had come true, as much as they were able. Oh, there were a few setbacks along the way, wishes that she knew could never be answered. Like seeing Anna, Kristoff or her parents just one more time. Still, nobody - not even a Queen - gets everything they want in life. But for what it was worth, Queen Elsa of Arendelle felt she had done pretty good.


End file.
